


When Thoughts Consume

by TheLovelyStarlight



Series: Enter My Dark and Horrific Stories [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Corrupted Steven Universe, Corruption, Dark, Depression, Permanent Injury, References to Depression, Song Lyrics, emotionless Steven Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:49:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28417899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLovelyStarlight/pseuds/TheLovelyStarlight
Summary: For once, the gems listen to Steven to give him some space when he asks for it. Stuff was spiraling out of control, and after the whole event with Greg’s van they believed that Steven indeed needed some space alone in his room. In the end, the three promised him three days to be on his own. When they come up to check up on him, they see something horrific.Based on a Twitter Fanart by PrismaticEris. Go check them out!
Series: Enter My Dark and Horrific Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2081337
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	When Thoughts Consume

By the time morning came, Pearl could hear a soft sound of guitar melody come from upstairs. It was slow, almost sad but soothing in autre. It was enough to drop the breakfast she was fixing up to go and get Amethyst and Garnet.

Though she had every right to be worried and concerned for the music being played. It's been three days since the whole ordeal with Greg's van, and the gems had a stern talking to with Steven after finding out what had caused it in the first place. Greg only told the three so little, but he did blame himself for his son's pink outbursts while he was the one driving. Garnet didn't really know what the outbursts looked like at first, but after Amethyst and even Pearl explained their events of having been around the hybrid's short temper, they all knew things needed to be done about it. At first it was just cracking things or high blots of power like with Smokey Quartz, but this was getting out of hand.

It wasn't that simple though, and they knew this. When Pearl and the others confronted the brunette haired teen, it was clear that he was in some sort of turmoil and quick to lash out. He snapped at them, looking so exhausted and almost like he wasn't even there talking to them. His once bright and sparkling brown eyes just seemed so blank and distant, light bags under his eyes like he wasn't sleeping right, skin looking almost too pale while it swelled and flashed pink with every word he spat out. By the time he formed a wall against the white gem's approach to him, and without even his full knowledge of it, they knew right away that something was deeply wrong. They have never even seen a wall like the one the hybrid made. It was scary and concerning all at once. They didn't know what to do. They wanted to talk to the young man, help him like he helped them with their problems. The issue though was that they knew that they were doing it wrong. Approaching him only seemed to make the ground shake worse, talking to him seemed to only make the glass and wood crack under his pressure, and every demand to just understand him brought the diamond boy to scream in pain and frustration. Nothing was working.

In the end, Garnet held Amethyst and Pearl back from the trembling young man. Steven was only half way up the stairs when he looked at the fusion desperately, begging under his tearfilled eyes to be left alone just for a while. He needed time to cool down, time to be alone. While it didn't feel right, while in her mind and vision it just screamed at her not to let him be alone, she closed her eyes and gave the hybrid his begging needs. They agreed to leave him alone, to give him space to cool off until he could talk again.

It's been three days since they watched Steven run and trapped himself in his room.

The rest of the gang had become busy since that day. Bismuth and Greg went to her Black smith shop to get his vehicle fixed, Lapis and Peridot were becoming busy with the school, and the gems tried to find free time to be there at the Temple. During their breaks between classes, each of the gems would come to the Temple to see if Steven was outside his room waiting for them to finally talk. When classes were over and the day had come to an end, the three waited a bit in the middle of the night to get even a glimpse of the boy they love so much. Pearl started to cook in the morning and evenings again, hoping the smell would bring him down to talk. Amethyst brought her classes to the house to show them how to use a kitchen and bathroom, praying that the noise would bring him back to spirits to catch. Garnet would sit on the couch, silent and listening in for any sound from him. They heard rings from his phone a few times, but he was being too quiet on purpose to not be heard by them. Greg and Connie had called the gems, but they had nothing to give them with updates on the young man. For three, long and tortuous days, sunrise and sunset, the three get no response from him. It was like Steven wasn't even in the Temple to begin with. It was painfully silent up there, but they didn't dare to go up the stairs. They promised him three days, so they would all respect it.

On the fourth day, the white skinny gem finally hears something other than silence come from upstairs. At first, she had begun to worry that Steven had ran away from them, but the soft melody of his guitar was confirmation that he indeed never left his room. It was the weekend, and Pearl wasted no time to get Amethyst and Garnet after hearing the music from upstairs. By the time the three came to the end of the stairs, nerves and worry filling their gems, the music soon became soft little humans of muffled words.

"What do you think he's doing up there," Amethyst whispered not so quietly, her eyes never leaving the top of the stairs.

Garnet just seems to be in deep thought as they listen to the music, shifting her shades as if to decide if she should take them off or not. "I'm not sure. My future vision can't give me a clear answer other than he is just playing with his guitar."

That answer obviously didn't satisfy the purple quartz as she rolled her eyes. "Yeah no shit. We can hear it being played," She scoffed and ignored the small glare from Pearl, continuing, "Should we even go up there? I thought Steven needed space."

Pearl answered for the fusion, shaking her head, "It's been three days like we promised. He can't keep hiding and letting these outburst continue to be out of control Amethyst."

"Yeah but... Shouldn't we wait for him to come down instead of barging in?"

"He won't come down." the two gems turn to Garnet as she says this, removing her shades to reveal her own concern in her three multi colored eyes. "If we don't go up there, Steven most likely won't come down for another week. It's best if we go up there now."

Amethyst gave a look of shock, but also frustration as she whispered a small 'fuck', ignoring the smack from Pearl as she turned to look at the married fusion. It's clear that standing here and listening to the still melody music coming from the hybrid. With a firm nod, Garnet takes the first steps up the stairs.

The other two quickly followed after her, they three tensed with every slow and nervous step towards the boy's room. Pearl had her hands curled to fists on her side, trying hard not to cling them to her twisting stomach. Amethyst wasn't that strong though, moving her hair into a ponytail to help the stress as she bit her bottom lip. Garnet, who was in the lead, was holding her face stoic and firm as her first third eye finally took in the sight slowly coming to them with each step up the stairs. The music also became clearer, sounded more sadder and slower, the hums and mumbles from the human hybrid now becoming whispers and words that reached only the fusion first.

_"Feeling like I've been used..._

_Talk about never feeling so brand new._

_I've fallen in the crack one too many times..._

_I can't put myself right back into line.."_

_"Knowing breathing all these lies..._

_Feelings fade.. when you are high._

_I never wanna get out on the street..._

_I never wanna be back on my feet..."_

Garnet heard Pearl let out a flutter of a gasp but didn't turn around to see that the skinny gem was now trembling when she now stood mid step. Beside her though, Amethyst was now looking more so shocked and pale as the soft whispering voice of her brother sang those horrific words. Her voice is lost in her throat like a rock in a pipe. Nothing was coming out, but it didn't matter to the fusion in front of them. She didn't turn around to see her fellow gems' reaction to the music, rather her third eye took in the terribly shocking sight that only seemed to make the words ringing in her ears far worse.

There, right in front of the stairs on the floor next to the nightstand by the bed, laid a pile of blankets and pillows, and in the center of it all was Steven playing his guitar.

Steven was... sick. Painfully and shockingly sick.

He looked so awful. He was still in the bright pink jacket and blue jeans since the day he came back with Greg's destroyed van, but now seeing against the pale skin was almost an eyesore to see. His face and hands were painfully pale. His skin was so white and washed away from the vanilla tan they were used to, it almost seemed grey instead. His hair was lighter though, far from the dark chocolate curls they used to be but now a bright wood color with the curls looking so dry and yet moppy in a way. His hair is just messier, and it could have been due to being buried under the blankets for so long. His eyes were no longer the soft brown pools they use to be, but rather eyes that looked to be that of a monster. They were completely black voids, the irises had long since vanished letting the pupils diamond slit and white, glowing a dark sickening purplish pink color. There was black glop leaving the hybrid's eyes that looked nothing like tears. They fell like a waterfall, never ending, but scaring his once soft cheeks with black ash like streaks. What scared the fusion the most, that left even Garnet speechless with utter fear, was how empty he stared at her.

Steven stared right through her, his eyes were solely at the entrance of his room like he was waiting for them to come up. His new scary eyes were even more hollow and expressionless as his normal brown ones before, but this time deeply more so. Before they could still see Steven with his eyes, even when he looked so lost and sad, they could all still see him in the fogged and distant irises. Before this, they could see him and pull him back to the gems and his friends. Now, looking into those pools of black half lidded but non blinking, there wasn't a trance she could find of the young diamond they once knew. His face was frozen in a state of utter emptiness, drone of any emotion but far from smiling like White's once was. This sight of the boy. There was no happiness, no joy or shock, not even sadness or fear she had thought they would be seeing. There was nothing. Nothing was showing on the young man's face.

When Garnet finally came to the top of the stairs, her eyes broke away from Steven's dead ones at the sound of Pearl's utter distraught choke. She saw the white gem now shaking and covering her mouth to hold back the sobbing scream begging to drop right on out of her. Amethyst was beside her, looking almost as pale as Steven was as she began to shake her head in disbelief. They were shocked, scared, and it honestly looked like they were completely destroyed by the sight of their beloved hybrid. Of course she couldn't blame them. The sight was definitely something the fusion couldn't bare herself to stare at. What on Earth happened to him?

_"I've been lost and found, yeah._

_Never really quite understood how._

_Feel like I broke my soul..._

_I lay here and contemplate on my own..."_

Steven was still playing with his guitar, his hands slow and looked to be trapped in the tempo. He didn't bother to act like he noticed the gems, his eyes forward on Garnet but unseeing in a way. His voice was clearer though, but they didn't believe hearing the monotone of the teen was any better to their distraught reactions.

_"And I know I promised, I'll be home soon._

_I've lost my way, I'm scared of fate._

_These memories fade... I've made my mistakes..._

_It's hard to live, I'm so broken..._

_I'm broken... so broken..."_

"Steven!" No one really knew who said it first, but it didn't matter. Garnet was the closest to him to reach and touch him, but flinched back slightly to feel the grey skin completely ice cold to the touch. It is almost cold enough to make even Sapphire nervous for the hybrid. Steven's hands stopped moving, the music stopped, but no other movement came to knowledge that he knew they were there.

"...Steven? Steven can you hear me," Garner whispered, her voice trembling as she looked deep into the glowing eyes still staring blankly at her. She moved the guitar away from his hands carefully, she felt no protest as she watched his arms fall limp on his lap. She bit her lip, trying to reach him deeper. "Please. Steven says something. What happened?"

The young man didn't respond, not even a breath was heard. He just continued to stare right through the fusion, his face continued to be as empty as before.

This time, it was Pearl who tearfully spoke up. Her voice is not as soft but evenly worrisome. "Steven? Please what happened to you? Can you even hear us!? It's us Steven!"

He flinched at the shouting next to his ear, his eyes not looking as distant and hollow as before. Much to their tiny relief, Steven blinked slowly as if to focus his vision. Amethyst came kneeling next to Garnet, her hand reaching for his black tear streaked face.

"Come on dude. It's us! Steven how did this happe- OUCH!!"

Garnet and Pearl widen in fear and shock to see Amethyst flinging her hand back like she had been burnt. Steven's eyes turned slowly to the weathering quartz as well, his face now showing more awareness of his surroundings as he let out a light gasp at the sight of her. She was clutching her hand that had touched the hybrid's face, kneeling and screaming as if she was still on fire. The two older gems were quick to see that her whole thumb, now spreading to her whole hand, was turning an ugly shade of black.

Pearl shocked in shock and fear, screaming Amethyst's hand as she rushed to help her hand Garnet still had her own hands on Steven's shoulders, only flinching back when she heard him whisper to her. "You should let go of me..."

The fusion did, but her eyes turned right back to Steven as he finally seemed to be staring at Garnet. His face was still blank, still trapped in this state of hollowness that looked to be utter pain, but his eyes were now blinking al be it much slower than before.

"Steven?"

"Sorry..." Steven mumbled out loud enough for Garnet to hear, his eyes shifting from hers to look at Amethyst not holding her fully blackened hand as if it still stung. His expression never changed. "I didn't mean to hurt her... I can't control..."

At first, neither Garnet nor Pearl knew what he was talking about all of a sudden, but then they took a look at Amethyst's not fully blackened right hand as she tried to fight back her tears from the still lingering pain. It was the same hand she used to touch his cheek though, but then they remembered that his cheeks were covered in the black glob of tears, sliding down and burning his own pale skin in their way. The tears, they were deadly and hurt on contact.

Knowing this, Garnet now kept her hands away from Steven, confusion on her face at this strange new power. She glanced at Pearl, who was just as horrified and shocked by the realization as well. Rose never had powers to hurt or burn others before. Sure they learned that she had destructive powers from VolleyBall, but there was nothing said about tears that could harm instead of heal. Steven didn't seem to be shocked though by this, rather he looked to have a bit of guilt on his rather expressionless face. He knew already that his strange black tears were harmful, the ashy scars on his cheeks breaking the gem's hearts. How long was he in pain just from crying? How long was he in this state for?

Amethyst finally painted, breaking the silence as she slowly came back on her knees. Her hand was still in pain, still black and trembling like mad, but she pushed past the pain to speak. "S-Steven... H-How long h-have you been able to d-do this?"

It took longer than they had hoped for him to answer, but after a blink from him, Steven touched his face where the tears still fell. "A day... maybe two..." He didn't even flinch from the pain they knew he was feeling.

She hissed, frowning in pain and confusion. "Why didn't you say something? Why didn't you tell us something was wrong!?"

"Amethyst..." Garnet went to speak, but Steven spoke over her in his same monotone.

"I'm fine Amethyst..." Steven says slowly, the words cutting into them than anything else. "It's no big deal... my powers have always been out of control.."

Garnet shook her head and said firmly, "This is far from out of control Steven. When did this start to happen? Rose never had-"

She was cut off once again but the blankness of the hybrid's black eyes. "I don't know... I think..." He stopped, his eyes looking distant once more as he continued to sit there before them. It was hard to see if he even was back with them again until he answered. "Corruption maybe... Whatever," He shrugged. "Doesn't matter anymore."

Pearl was shaking from head to toe, trying to speak without sobs between each letter. "S-S-Steven..."

Steven didn't respond, or even react to Pearl's tears. Instead, he sat there silent for a second longer before turning back to Garnet. He then asked, "Has it been three days?" Getting a small nod, he sighed and slowly went to stand. "Do you want to talk now?"

"Can you even..." Garnet bit her lip, her mind filled with worry and confusion. She had no idea what to even say. If this was corruption, it was unlike anything the three had ever seen. His empty stares, his emotionless words, it was all unsettling. "Steven what's wrong? Please... we just want to help you."

He shook his head. "I'm fine Garnet...There's no need to help me."

She didn't believe that. She couldn't believe that. How can he not see how different he looked, how drone like he was even acting? For stars sake, he even suggested that this could be corruption but is acting like it was completely fine. Almost like... like he deserved to be this way. She had to hold back her tears. Where did they go wrong!? "Steven you are clearly unwell. Please... we're worried."

That got a reaction out of the hybrid. The gems could see it. His eyes shoulders tense and his eyes seem to sharpen and glow more purplish. His breathing picked up slightly, his eyes wide and almost terrified, but as soon as the reaction came, it quickly stopped in a blink of an eye. He still looked tense, but his eyes fell even lower than emptiness. His voice was even more hollow.

"You don't need to worry... Stop worrying." The words came out more forcefully than before. "I'm not having pink outbursts anymore. I'm not destroying anything anymore. I'm fine..."

Pearl snapped at this, shaking her head. She pushed past Garnet to grip the hybrid's shoulders and shook him with her words. "You're not fine! You're pale and crying black tears and speaking like this and... Why can't you tell us what's happening to you!?"

Steven just seemed more distant after that, but his face did not hold a small anger to being touched. He took Pearl's wrists in his hands, forcing her off of his shoulders as his voice still was light and hollow as before. "I'm fine. I was just exaggerating. There's nothing wrong... It's... nothing."

Nothing.

Why did hearing that bring more terror than the hybrid was even implying.

The room fell into painful silence once more, leaving the hybrid to now stare blankly forward at the stairs. Before Garnet could speak again, Steven stepped around her and out towards the stairs. He mumbled, slowly, "I'm... going for a walk."

No. That was a terrible idea. Garnet got up to grab his shoulder saying, "Steven wait-" before she was cut off but a black spike came out of the hybrid's shoulder. The gems gasped, seeing the black glow spike aiming just centimeters away from the fusion's left hand gem. Almost piercing Ruby.

Steven looked over his shoulder, the spiked fading away as his hollow eyes darkened further. They seemed like they were in pain, frustrated, but mostly just tired. They looked so tired and in pain that the void they made seemed so broken within. Still his voice seemed to hold no emotion within. "No. Just forget about me. There's nothing wrong. It's **nothing** _ **.**_.."

Just from that last word alone, the room seemed to feel colder and the pain in Amethyst's hand started to throb once more. The three looked at the hybrid in such fear, but Steven paid no mind to their stares. Instead, he turned back around and left down the stairs. It didn't take long for them to hear the front door close behind the teen as he left the Temple. To where, they didn't honestly know. They didn't know what to do. What on star earth had just happened? What did they just see?

Pearl started to whimper in hurt, fear, and sorrow for how different Steven seemed now. The noise was so small, so weak and heartbreaking that it finally broke the three. She trembled to the floor and sobbed, quickly trying to call the others to come and help them. Amethyst started to tear up to, shaking and still clutching her now completely black injured hand. It was limp in her hold, she couldn;t even move a twitch to her pinky. As for Garnet, she just stood there staring at the stairs where the teen left. What was there to even say or do? This, this wasn't an outcome the fusion honestly ever saw in her visions. Never. This sight, this empty shell that was once the boy they helped raise and loved so dearly, was something she never thought was possible to be created. He was so empty, so dead just from touch alone, that she wondered if their boy was still there. That her Cutie Pie was still in there.

They had to save him. They didn't know how or what to do, even after calling Connie and Greg and the others, their minds were wrecked on what to do with this. Right now, it was best to just find Steven before he hurts himself, or worse... hurt someone else.


End file.
